Articles written by Michael Casey & Erik Verduzco


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 1 of 1

  • Federal money flows for dam removal, river restoration projects

    Michael Casey and Erik Verduzco, Associated Press|Sep 4, 2024

    BOONE, N.C. — Excavators claw at the remains of Shulls Mill Dam on the Watauga River, pulling concrete apart piece by piece and gradually opening a waterway kept in check for nearly two centuries. Removal of this privately owned hydropower dam in western North Carolina will be a boon for rafters, kayakers and tubers by allowing the river to flow freely for nearly 80 miles. But maybe the biggest beneficiary will be a strange, ancient creature known as the eastern hellbender salamander. Sometimes called a snot otter or Allegheny alligator, i...